Family, Youth & Consumer
News

Child
seats allow safe transportation of kids

By Bonnie Coblentz

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi law leaves a lot of decisions up to
parents on how to safely transport their children, but there are simple
guidelines to ensure they do it best.

Mississippi has
a seat belt law for all passengers in cars and specifies that children
from birth to age 4 be properly restrained in a car safety seat. Babies
are required to be restrained in rear-facing safety seats until they
are 20 pounds and 1 year old. Children from age 4 to 8 must be “properly restrained,” but the law does not specify how.
The state does not have a law requiring the use of booster seats, as
several other states have.

Herb Willcutt, safety
specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service,
said the momentum of a moving vehicle carries unrestrained passengers
and objects forward when the vehicle stops suddenly or changes direction
rapidly.

“Unrestrained, small children are impacted on dashboards, the backs
of seats and other objects that may be in the car,” Willcutt said. “A
parent holding a child can actually crush that child if they are thrown
forward in a collision.”

Child safety seats
are designed to provide greater support and protection to the head
and vital parts of babies and young children. Once children have outgrown
the age and weight standards for child safety seats, booster seats
are designed to elevate children to where vehicle seat belts will fit
them correctly.

“A seat belt must fit the child the way it fits you,” said
Angela Brown, outreach coordinator for Safe Kids Mississippi, a non-profit,
educational organization in Jackson. “The seat belt must come across
their shoulders and chest, and rest across their upper thighs and hips.”

While the law allows
children 4 years and older to simply use a seat belt, Brown said because
of their height, the shoulder strap often rubs against children's necks and many move it behind them where it
can no longer protect them.

Safe Kids Mississippi
recommends booster seats for children ages 4 to 8 or until they reach
4 feet 9 inches tall and 80 pounds. This organization also recommends
that children not sit in the front seat until they reach age 14.

“If a child must sit in the front seat, push the seat all the way
back and turn the airbag off,” Brown said. “Some vehicles
have weight sensors that turn the air bag off automatically, and others
have a manual switch.”

Brown said many
vehicles can be equipped with a switch that can deactivate the airbag
when necessary.

While there are
numerous price ranges and options when buying child safety and booster
seats, Brown said the process does not have to be difficult.

“The best car seat for your child is the one that fits your car
and that you will use correctly every single time,” Brown said. “All
car seats were tested to the same standards. Some have extra bells and
whistles, but if used correctly, a $30 car seat will work as well as
a $200 car seat.”

She did caution
against using secondhand seats because they may have missing parts,
may not meet current safety standards or may have been stressed in
a wreck.

Safe Kids Mississippi has several chapters located throughout the state
and conducts free inspections of car seats to ensure that children are
being transported safely. For more information on this organization or
proper use of child safety and booster seats, visit http://mssafekids.com/.